Anonymous payment transactions

Abstract

In an embodiment, a method performed by a payment service system (PSS) includes receiving from a first payment application associated with the PSS, a request to generate a token. The method includes identifying account information associated with the recipient. The method includes generating an anonymizing token associated with the recipient. The method includes storing an association between the account information of the recipient and the anonymizing token. The method includes providing for display of the anonymizing token within the first payment application. The anonymizing token anonymously embeds recipient information and the account information of the recipient. The method includes, upon receiving an indication of an intent to transfer payment through interaction with the anonymizing token via a second payment application, identifying a recipient account associated with the recipient based on an identification of the stored association and automatically facilitating a transfer of funds to the recipient account.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 receiving, by an intermediary payment service system for anonymously transferring money through an exchange of information between a device of a recipient of a payment and a device of a sender of the payment and from a first payment application associated with the intermediary payment service system and executing on the device of the recipient of the payment, a request from the recipient of the payment to generate a recipient-anonymizing token, the request from the recipient of the payment including recipient identification information and transaction information associated with a transaction; 
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in a data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, account information of the recipient using the recipient identification information received from the device of the recipient of the payment; 
 generating, by the intermediary payment service system and based on the identified account information and the transaction information received from the device of the recipient of the payment, the recipient-anonymizing token corresponding to the recipient of the payment, wherein generating the recipient-anonymizing token through the intermediary payment service system necessitates the sender of the payment to communicate through the intermediary payment service system for the transfer of the payment to the recipient such that sender identification information is concealed from the recipient of the payment and recipient identification information is concealed from the sender of the payment and the sender and recipient remain anonymous during the transfer of the payment; 
 storing, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, an association between the account information of the recipient of the payment and the recipient-anonymizing token; 
 providing, by the intermediary payment service system, for display of the recipient-anonymizing token within the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient, wherein the recipient-anonymizing token is presented in a format that anonymously embeds the recipient identification information and the account information of the recipient such that the recipient identification information and the account information of the recipient remain unknown to the sender of the payment; and 
 based at least in part on receiving, by the intermediary payment service system and from the device of the sender of the payment, an indication of an intent to transfer the payment via a second payment application executing on the device of the sender of the payment:
 comparing, by the intermediary payment service system, a received token associated with the indication of the intent to transfer the payment to the recipient-anonymizing token stored in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, wherein the received token is generated through interaction with the recipient-anonymizing token; 
 responsive to a determination of a correspondence between the received token and the recipient-anonymizing token, identifying, by the intermediary payment service system, a recipient account associated with the recipient based on the previously stored association between the account information of the recipient and the recipient-anonymizing token in the data store of the intermediary payment service system; and 
 facilitating, by the intermediary payment service system, the transfer of the payment corresponding to a transaction amount to the recipient account. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, a sender account associated with the sender, wherein the intermediary payment service system facilitates the transfer of the payment from the identified sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the sender account and the recipient account are each any of a bank account, a pre-paid account, or a credit card account. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the intermediary payment service system, that no sender account associated with the sender is stored in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system; 
 transmitting, by the intermediary payment service system, a payment account request to the second payment application executing on the device of the sender, the payment account request configured to prompt the sender to input payment account information associated with the sender account; and 
 in response to receiving the payment account information, facilitating the transfer of the payment from the sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the recipient-anonymizing token corresponding to the recipient of the payment is presented in a machine-readable format. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the recipient-anonymizing token corresponding to the recipient of the payment is presented as any of a matrix barcode, a media file, a string of characters, an encrypted message, or a globally unique identifier. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the intent to transfer the payment is received by the intermediary payment service system from the second payment application executing on the device of the sender subsequent to the second payment application having been used to scan the recipient-anonymizing token displayed within the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient of the payment. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the intent to transfer the payment is received by the intermediary payment service system from the second payment application executing on the device of the sender after the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient of the payment has transferred the recipient-anonymizing token to the second payment application executing on the device of the sender of the payment through a short-range communication broadcast. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of intent to transfer the payment includes the recipient-anonymizing token, the transaction amount, and sender identification information associated with the sender. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, prior to facilitating the transfer of the payment corresponding to the transaction amount to the recipient account:
 transmitting, by the intermediary payment service system, a transaction confirmation request message to the device of the sender, wherein the transaction confirmation request message is configured to prompt the sender to approve the transaction amount to be transferred to the recipient. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating, based on the identified account information and the transaction information received from the device of the recipient of the payment, the recipient-anonymizing token corresponding to the recipient of the payment comprises:
 causing the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient to generate the recipient-anonymizing token; and 
 causing the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient to transmit the recipient-anonymizing token to the intermediary payment service system. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, based at least in part on receiving an indication of a second intent to transfer payment via a third payment application executing on a second device of a second sender:
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system, the recipient account associated with the recipient, wherein the recipient account is identified based on an identification of the previously stored association between the recipient-anonymizing token and the account information of the recipient in the data store of the intermediary payment service system; and 
 automatically facilitating, by the intermediary payment service system, a second transfer of the payment corresponding to the transaction amount to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, a second sender account associated with the second sender, wherein the intermediary payment service system facilitates the second transfer of the payment from the identified second sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the indication of the intent to transfer payment is received by the intermediary payment service system from the second payment application executing on the device of the sender after the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient of the payment has transferred the recipient-anonymizing token to the second payment application executing on the device of the sender of the payment through a short-range communication broadcast; and 
 the short-range communication broadcast for sending the recipient-anonymizing token from the first payment application to the second payment application comprises one or more of a Wi-Fi, a Bluetooth, a Bluetooth Low Energy, or a near field communication. 
 
     
     
       15. An intermediary payment service system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media in communication with the one or more processors and comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, are configured to cause the intermediary payment service system to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, by the intermediary payment service system for anonymously transferring money through an exchange of information between a device of a recipient of a payment and a device of a sender of the payment and from a first payment application associated with the intermediary payment service system and executing on the device of the recipient of the payment, a request from the recipient of the payment to generate a recipient-anonymizing token, the request from the recipient of the payment including recipient identification information and transaction information associated with a transaction; 
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in a data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, account information of the recipient using the recipient identification information received from the device of the recipient of the payment; 
 generating, by the intermediary payment service system and based on the identified account information and the transaction information received from the device of the recipient of the payment, the recipient-anonymizing token corresponding to the recipient of the payment, wherein generating the recipient-anonymizing token through the intermediary payment service system necessitates the sender of the payment to communicate through the intermediary payment service system for the transfer of the payment to the recipient such that sender identification information is concealed from the recipient of the payment and recipient identification information is concealed from the sender of the payment and the sender and recipient remain anonymous during the transfer of the payment; 
 storing, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, an association between the account information of the recipient of the payment and the recipient-anonymizing token; 
 providing, by the intermediary payment service system, for display of the recipient-anonymizing token within the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient, wherein the recipient-anonymizing token is presented in a format that anonymously embeds the recipient identification information and the account information of the recipient such that the recipient identification information and the account information of the recipient remain unknown to the sender of the payment; and 
 based at least in part on receiving, by the intermediary payment service system and from the device of the sender of the payment, an indication of an intent to transfer the payment via a second payment application executing on the device of the sender of the payment:
 comparing, by the intermediary payment service system, a received token associated with the indication of the intent to transfer the payment to the recipient-anonymizing token stored in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, wherein the received token is generated through interaction with the recipient-anonymizing token; 
 responsive to a determination of a correspondence between the received token and the recipient-anonymizing token, identifying, by the intermediary payment service system, a recipient account associated with the recipient based on the previously stored association between the account information of the recipient and the recipient-anonymizing token in the data store of the intermediary payment service system; and 
 facilitating, by the intermediary payment service system, the transfer of the payment corresponding to a transaction amount to the recipient account. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The intermediary payment service system of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the intermediary payment service system perform operations further comprising:
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, a sender account associated with the sender, wherein the intermediary payment service system facilitates the transfer of the payment from the identified sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       17. The intermediary payment service system of  claim 16 , wherein the sender account and the recipient account are each any of a bank account, a pre-paid account, or a credit card account. 
     
     
       18. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an intermediary payment service system, are configured to cause the intermediary payment service system to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, by the intermediary payment service system for anonymously transferring money through an exchange of information between a device of a recipient of a payment and a device of a sender of the payment and from a first payment application associated with the intermediary payment service system and executing on the device of the recipient of the payment, a request from the recipient of the payment to generate a recipient-anonymizing token, the request from the recipient of the payment including recipient identification information and transaction information associated with a transaction; 
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in a data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, account information of the recipient using the recipient identification information received from the device of the recipient of the payment; 
 generating, by the intermediary payment service system and based on the identified account information and the transaction information received from the device of the recipient of the payment, the recipient-anonymizing token corresponding to the recipient of the payment, wherein generating the recipient-anonymizing token through the intermediary payment service system necessitates the sender of the payment to communicate through the intermediary payment service system for the transfer of the payment to the recipient such that sender identification information is concealed from the recipient of the payment and recipient identification information is concealed from the sender of the payment and the sender and recipient remain anonymous during the transfer of the payment; 
 storing, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, an association between the account information of the recipient of the payment and the recipient-anonymizing token; 
 providing, by the intermediary payment service system, for display of the recipient-anonymizing token within the first payment application executing on the device of the recipient, wherein the recipient-anonymizing token is presented in a format that anonymously embeds the recipient identification information and the account information of the recipient such that the recipient identification information and the account information of the recipient remain unknown to the sender of the payment; and 
 based at least in part on receiving, by the intermediary payment service system and from the device of the sender of the payment, an indication of an intent to transfer the payment via a second payment application executing on the device of the sender of the payment:
 comparing, by the intermediary payment service system, a received token associated with the indication of the intent to transfer the payment to the recipient-anonymizing token stored in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, wherein the received token is generated through interaction with the recipient-anonymizing token; 
 responsive to a determination of a correspondence between the received token and the recipient-anonymizing token, identifying, by the intermediary payment service system, a recipient account associated with the recipient based on the previously stored association between the account information of the recipient and the recipient-anonymizing token in the data store of the intermediary payment service system; and 
 facilitating, by the intermediary payment service system, the transfer of the payment corresponding to a transaction amount to the recipient account. 
 
 
     
     
       19. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage  claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the intermediary payment service system to perform operations further comprising:
 identifying, by the intermediary payment service system and in the data store maintained by the intermediary payment service system, a sender account associated with the sender, wherein the intermediary payment service system facilitates the transfer of the payment from the identified sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       20. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of  claim 19 , wherein the sender account and the recipient account are each any of a bank account, a pre-paid account, or a credit card account.